The two city-owned blocks expected to become the anchors of the long-discussed African American Cultural Heritage District will likely include 30,000 square feet of creative space, more than 100 residential units, and a combination of restaurants and office space that could also serve local creatives.
Two city commissions – the Arts Commission and the Urban Renewal Board – received updates on the process to create the request for proposals that will invite developers to offer their plans for building on the two largely vacant parcels on East 11th Street. The URB is the owner of the two noncontiguous blocks, which already include the Victory Grill and Kenny Dorham’s Backyard music venues.
The draft RFP discussed by the URB spells out a two-phase process for developers interested in one or both of the sites. The first phase would involve proof of qualifications and capacity and a general conceptual proposal, while the second step would call for detailed plans, a financial pro forma, timeline and construction strategy.
Anne Gatling Haynes, chief transaction officer for the Austin Economic Development Corporation, which is coordinating the development effort, said the city is working hard to increase awareness and participation among minority-owned developers and contractors who could be potential fits for the projects that are in the heart of Austin’s Black community.
“We’re starting to get out to the development community and letting them know that this RFP is coming. That’s so important because any RFP process is probably shorter in terms of time to find developers,” she said. “We’ve got a baseline set of developers that we know have capacity and would be able to do things, and certainly knowing the objectives of these two blocks, we have to make sure we’re also reaching out to additional developers of color.”
Known in development circles as blocks 16 and 18, the redevelopments will include 60,000 total square feet of commercial space, with housing on the sites expected to be priced as affordably as possible. The RFP, which is expected to be released this spring, as well as other analyses, spell out that significant levels of affordable housing will likely require a variety of subsidies to make them financially feasible.
Members of the URB addressed some concerns about how well the RFP and other documents reflected their long-debated vision and planning for the two blocks and the larger district.
City arts and cultural stakeholders see the preservation of existing music venues in the area as crucial to solidifying local Black culture that is being wiped away as the demand for housing throughout the city continues to increase. URB members also discussed the possibility of using some of the housing planned for the site to meet the housing needs of Huston-Tillotson University.
While the RFP goes through revisions ahead of its release, the AEDC has scheduled a series of community arts and music events where city staff will be on hand to answer questions about the future of the two blocks. Those gatherings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 24, May 15 and July 19.
Theresa Alvarez, president and CEO of the AEDC, said the work of long-established groups, such as Six Square, has been crucial to shaping the vision for the two blocks as an epicenter for creatives from the city’s Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities.
“There’s been years of engagement and stops and starts in developing these two blocks, and there’s a very long list of wants and desires for two very small blocks,” she said. “I know everything that people want to see there is not possible but we’re going to do our best to put in as many of the community benefits that we’ve all been asking for for many years.”
Credit City of Austin
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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Arts Commission: The Arts Commission advises the Austin City Council in all arts-related matters, fosters the development of the arts, and promotes cooperation between the City and the public.
Urban Renewal Board: The Urban Renewal Board oversees the city’s Urban Renewal Agency and any plans associated with the agency. The Urban Renewal Plan’s primary purpose is to “eliminate slum and blighting influence within a designated area of the city.”
